Two esteemed alumni of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School returned to their alma mater May 3 to be added to the PW Distinguished Graduates Organization.

NBA player and PW state champion John Salmons joined Renee Turchi, an associate professor at the Drexel School of Public Health and dignified childrens physician, to address the school and receive their honors.

Its truly humbling to have this honor bestowed upon me, Turchi said.

In 2011 alone, Turchi was a state champion in children and youth with special health care needs in the Maternal & Child Health Bureau, received the Nations Best Doctor Award and was given the Best Research Award at the annual Physical Therapy Association Conference.

I remember being in biology lab and schlepping this huge binder with all these biology notes here at PW that absolutely influenced my education, Turchi said.

Her compassion and humility for the well-being of others, and children specifically, have made her into the sought-after and respected doctor she is.

My prayer on Sunday in church after I pray for the health of my family, my friends and myself, I say, God, help me to help them, because it is way bigger than me or you or any of us and we can never, ever forget that, Turchi said.

After PW, Turchi studied at Cornell University, receiving her B.A. in psychology. She then received her Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and became an MD at the Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Theres so much to be done in our City of Brotherly Love, just 10 miles from here, Turchi said. I dont think I realized until I was in medical school in Philadelphia how much work we have to do.

Another Philadelphian, or even closer in Conshohocken, Salmons also gave the people of Southeastern Pennsylvania something to cheer about. Continued...

See original here:
Plymouth Whitemarsh honors alumni